2 more employees of paper mill die without salary & dues since last 57 months, toll reaches 95

Sept. 23: Amid the the wake of the official liquidator issuing an eviction notice to the employees of two paper mills at Nagaon & Panchgram, deaths of the mill employees continued unabated. Recently, State Chief Minister also stated that it would not be possible to revive these two mills The word ‘death’ is sending a chill of horror in the corridors of the now defunct Nagaon and Panchgram Paper Mills. On one hand, when the procession of deaths due to COVID-19 is going on unabated, on the other, being deprived of salary since last 56 months, employees of the two HPC Paper Mills are embracing death one after another.

Two more employees of the defunct Nagaon and Cachar mills of the Hindustan Paper Corporation Limited (HPCL) died in Morigaon on Thursday taking the death tally since their closure to 95. Rajendra Kumar Nath, 60, of Nagaon Paper Mill who was suffering from diabetes died of a heart attack on Wednesday, while Shyama Kata Kurmi, 59, of Cachar Paper Mills died of kidney and liver disease on Thursday. “Without money, their families were unable to afford good treatment of both of them, who ultimately breathed their last due to the apathy of the govt,” said one of the union leader. It needs mention here that prior to them, another employee Akshay Kumar Mazumder of Nagaon Paper Mill died on 29 August, 2021.

Manabendra Chakraborty, trade union leader of the mill said, “This is the 10th death since the Himanta Biswa Sarma-led BJP government was formed in Assam. These are not general deaths. Akshay Kumar Mazumder joined the long procession of deaths of our employees without getting any proper treatment. How can you afford treatment when you are not paid your salaries since last 57 months and also they are deprived of retirement dues? How many deaths will wake up the govt from their deep slumber?”  With this, the death toll at HPC Paper Mill has now reached 95 including 4 suicides.

Cachar Paper Mill and Nagaon Paper Mill run by Hindustan Paper Corporation Limited (HPCL) have been non-functional since 20 October 2015 and 13 March 2017 respectively. The employees of the two mills have not received salaries for the past 57 months.

Also Read: HPC liquidator issues eviction notice to Nagaon & Cachar Paper Mill employees